A/N: I'm always apologizing in these author's notes, but I have to say I'm sorry. I intended to update a few days ago. However, my internet hasn't been working, which has been huge problem since I needed to re-watch 3x19 a lot as I wrote this chapter. My other excuse is that this chapter contains a lot of Tyler/Caroline, which I'm not a huge fan of writing (and I'm sure you're not a huge fan of reading either...so I'm sorry for that too in advance, ha).
Please be patient with this chapter as it contains original dialogue from 3x19 and a bit of Tyler and Caroline. It's necessary. I hope you can understand that, even if you don't like it. There's light at the end of the tunnel. I promise!
And I hate that we live in such an uptight society where I even have to say this, but in case you didn't notice the 'M' rating, please be warned that this chapter contains scenes of sexuality.
As usual, forgive the grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Please also refer to the author's note at the end when you're finished!
Enjoy!
She entered the school gym, trying her best to hold a confused look as she examined the progress made so far in the preparations for the dance.
Noticing Matt across the room, she approached him, eager to get this show underway so she could leave for Tyler who would be waiting to meet her shortly.
"What is this?" she asked Matt.
He did his best to fake a defensive glare.
They had haphazardly planned the scenario earlier this morning. She hoped both of them remembered enough of it so they could improvise successfully.
All she needed now was for Rebekah to make her appearance.
"It's a decade dance remember? You made us sign up to help," Matt said, offering a friendly, but fake reminder.
Months ago she had been ecstatic to plan their final decade dance before graduation. She had never forgotten about it, especially with Rebekah around now, but it wasn't as important to her as it once was.
"No, this," she corrected him as she picked up a purple boa "...the twenties? We're doing the seventies," she stated seriously.
Before Matt could respond and continue with their charade, Rebekah's voice sounded throughout the gym. Right on time, Caroline thought.
"Too flashy people; it's supposed to be a speakeasy not the world fair," Rebekah complained.
She listened for Rebekah to approach. Dropping the purple boa in false frustration, she turned around to face Klaus's sister.
"Ah good you're here. They need help setting up the tables so get to it," Rebekah ordered her.
It appeared as though someone had completely forgotten about what happened last night. That or she was avoiding the topic. Caroline preferred it was not brought up anyways. It would only distract her from the main objective of freeing herself from her decade dance commitments.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily.
"Somebody has to be in charge," Rebekah countered proudly.
"Yeah me," she answered sarcastically. "I'm the chair of the dance committee; the theme of the decade dance is the nineteen-seventies," she announced as she crossed her arms.
She knew that would rile Rebekah up.
"So you'd rather dress in tacky colours with bad hair than be a classic flapper from the Jazz age. Honestly, I don't know what my brother sees in you," Rebekah wondered aloud.
For a split second Caroline was caught off guard by Rebekah's comment. Klaus "saw" something in her? She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"Well maybe he sees a challenge. You see unlike some other people I don't sleep with everyone I make eye contact with," she retorted.
Rebekah's eyes narrowed as she inched closer to Caroline.
"Perhaps you don't, but there is one person in particular you have been sleeping with, and we both know his name isn't Tyler," Rebekah said quietly to her so that Matt couldn't hear.
Caroline's eyes widened instantly and she struggled to find a response.
- "Maybe we can do both decades," Matt said, providing a welcome interruption.
"No!" both she and Rebekah refused in unison.
"Go on Matt don't be a coward. You know you loved my twenties idea when I presented it to the group," Rebekah said, playing right into Matt and Caroline's plan.
"Traitor!" Caroline declared, as she faced Matt.
"Bell bottoms and disco? I don't know this just seemed cooler," Matt shrugged.
Rebekah leaned in once more towards her. "See? It's just cooler," she bragged.
Caroline shook her head and throwed her hands up in defeat.
"Whatever! Have fun at your stupid dance," she said bitterly, before marching out of the gym.
It took all her power to hide a triumphant smile as she walked out.
"Caroline, wait!" Matt yelled after her out of fake concern, as she reached her car.
She turned to him with a huge smile playing on her lips.
"Impressive. You sold it," she congratulated him.
"And you bought yourself a day," Matt added.
"Thank you. Just keep her occupied. And be careful!" she warned him.
"You too...and uh...tell him I said hi okay?" he told her.
She nodded as she got in her car.
She was still grinning from ear to ear as she parked her car in a secluded spot just off of the main highway leading into Mystic Falls.
Somehow she and Matt and been able to fool Rebekah. She had freed herself from Rebekah's suspicion and her dance committee duties for the day; which was fine with her, because to be honest, she really would have preferred the Seventies era for the dance anyways.
She was becoming quite the actress, she thought to herself as she climbed out of her car. She had fooled Katherine, Rebekah, to some extent Klaus, most of her friends, and if luck was on her side, Tyler would be next. Lying was not something she was proud of but she didn't feel like she had any other choice.
Matt did deserve some of the credit for her successful day thus far. He had played Rebekah's guilt for last night to his advantage. She melted like ice cream in the palms of his hands. She had been so preoccupied trying to return to his good graces, she didn't even put up a fight when Caroline relinquished her dance responsibilities for the day.
Her successful acting abilities could only sustain a good mood for so long, however. Thoughts of Klaus and Tyler quickly dampened it.
Although as a vampire she didn't need much sleep in order to function, she had barely slept at all last night. She had tossed and turned with guilt, and regret. She was paying the price now with every yawn that had plagued her.
If she was being honest, she had also been kept awake by a nagging pain in her chest. She had barely been with Klaus long enough to grow attached, but she could sense the feeling of loss; much like a break up. She hated herself for feeling it at all.
This too shall pass, she said to herself.
The prospect of seeing Tyler made her anxious, but she hoped it would be good for her. Perhaps if she remembered what they had together, severing any weak ties she had to Klaus would be easier; would convince her she had made the right choice.
She walked observantly through the woods towards the familiar underground Lockwood tunnels, enjoying the warmer spring-like weather, listening for any sound of Tyler.
Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, she could sense him, and she knew he was close by, watching her.
Feeling him immediately behind her, she couldn't help but smile at his game.
She knew that once she turned around Tyler would be standing there, and she mentally prepared herself for the emotional one-eighty she would have to do. He needed to know she was happy and relieved to see him. Truthfully, a part of her was. Another part was disappointed and unsure. However, she could not have him suspect anything.
It was time for her to resume her life with Tyler and forget about the distant fantasy that was Klaus. The sooner that happened, the better. If she acted pleased to see Tyler, then maybe she would really feel it. It would work.
Once she turned around to face him, she found herself bewildered. He had been gone for so long it seemed. It was surprising to see him in the flesh in front of her. However, the excitement she was expecting to and wanting to feel never came.
"Hi..." she said wearily.
His face was nearly expressionless, and she waited nervously for a response from him. Her conscience rushed into panic mode as she considered the possibility that Klaus had somehow reached him and told him what she had been up to while he was away.
That was until Tyler's lips pursed into a smile.
Instant relief.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you," he explained.
Her heart sunk with his admission. Her guilt was weighing her down. She had barely thought about him - aside from her guilty conscience since she had crossed the line with Klaus.
The past is the past, she said to herself. If she was going to move on with Tyler, she couldn't hold herself back there, trapped in her guilt.
Putting on a brave face, she smiled brightly at Tyler.
This was going to work.
In a heightened effort to convince herself of this, she stepped towards Tyler eagerly and kissed him hard.
He kissed her back with equal intensity but with more feeling than she had been able to give.
Not even a kiss - that had once fueled their passion - could dig up the old feelings she felt and refocus her attention.
Tyler didn't seem to notice, as he was too busy sucking her lips and nipping at her neck while he guided them towards the underground Lockwood tunnels.
She dreaded the idea of having sex here. Although she wasn't particularly keen on having sex with Tyler at all right now, this was one of the last places she had in mind when she envisioned the location of their inevitable reunion.
It was damp, uncomfortable, and dreary.
She had to go through with it regardless of her opinion on the location. Any second guessing from her would alarm Tyler. He needed to believe that she had just as much enthusiasm for him as he did for her. With time, she could only hope that would become truth again.
Caught up in her thoughts, she knew there was no more room for thinking and distraction. She'd lose it that way.
Grabbing the collar of his jacket, she switched positions with him, taking the lead through the tunnel towards the black iron gate.
She kissed him with as much lust as she could muster before pushing open the gate and turning to enter.
Once inside, she removed her jacket anticipatorily before turning back to face him as he stalked towards her.
His hands wrapped possessively around her waist, as her own cradled his jaw.
They continued their frenzied kissing while he pushed her backwards against the stone wall.
Taking the initiative, she lifted his shirt off to move things along.
She could tell by the aggressive way he was kissing and touching her that foreplay would be minimal.
After being apart for so long, she couldn't really hold Tyler's desire against him.
In part, her guilty conscience wanted it to be over quickly. At the same time, she had hoped a long intermission between initiation and sex would give her time to enhance her desire for him.
While she attempted to remove her boots with her feet, he could barely keep his hands off of her. In no time, her shirt was on the dirty ground.
His lips were at her cleavage instantly, and she closed her eyes as she ran her hands through his hair, trying to revel in the sensory experience of it all.
With a pinch of his fingers against the fabric of her bra, that too also fell to the ground beside them.
She cringed at the thought of having to put these clothes back on later now that they had been spoiled by the dirt.
"I want you so bad," Tyler husked as he fondled her breasts and kissed under her ear.
Normally, his voice and ministrations would have sent her reeling, but still, she felt nothing.
She whimpered in agreement, before tugging at the button of his jeans.
He stepped back and pulled his pants and boxers down to his thighs, while she removed the black tights and black thong she had been wearing.
"Are you ready baby?" he asked as his hands snaked their way up the backs of her bare thighs.
She nodded enthusiastically, but it was a lie. She was nowhere near ready, emotionally or physically. In fact, she was almost completely dry.
He lifted her up by her thighs and propped her up against the stone wall.
She barely noticed the pain of the jagged ridges of the rocks digging into her back, as the pain she felt as he attempted to enter her was way worse.
Her finger nails dug into his upper back as she winced loudly. She could only hope that Tyler perceived her pain as pleasure.
"You're so tight," he murmured against her shoulder.
As he continued his thrusts, her body slowly began to respond; her womanhood naturally lubricating itself out of necessity.
She was relieved and began to relax only slightly.
Closing her eyes, she tried hard to focus on the physical stimulation.
At this point she realized that what her Cosmo magazines had been saying all this time had been true; the key to good sex was as much about mental presence as it was physical touch.
Draping her head over his shoulder, she tried to think of past occasions with Tyler that had been enjoyable for her.
When Klaus's face entered the forefront of her mind, she froze.
"Are you okay?" Tyler panted as he continued to thrust.
She tightened her grasp around him and clenched her eyes shut, hoping her mental image would fade.
"Yeah, don't stop," she breathed.
As if she didn't already feel guilty enough, thinking about Klaus while Tyler fucked her made the feeling worse.
Sure, she had a few male celebrities she liked to think about when she was alone, but she had never pictured anyone else while she was with Tyler before...celebrity or not. The fact that she was thinking about a "real" person that she had already betrayed Tyler with was even more shameful.
Although she fought the urge, Klaus continued to invade her most personal thoughts. Her thoughts drifted towards the more salacious moments of their last night together. She recalled the way his lips danced between her thighs, and how his eyes dug into hers as he did so. She quivered at the thought. He had fit inside of her perfectly, and his slow thrusts inside of her made her moan with delight. She now found herself repeating those very moans as a result of her recollections in Tyler's embrace.
If she continued her train of thought a bit longer she could have probably made herself cum, but from the sounds of Tyler's inaudible words and groans of pleasure, she knew he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer.
And as if on cue, Tyler thrust deeply inside of her one last time, releasing a final moan to signal his climax.
She really didn't need a verbal indicator. As his hands let her legs slide slowly back down to the ground, she could feel the hot sticky evidence of his orgasm on her thighs.
Normally, that would have pleased her, but today it disgusted her, for reasons she was still unsure about.
Holding her face in his hands, he kissed her gratefully.
"I'm sorry," he laughed, as he lounged his face on the crock of her neck.
He pulled up his pants.
"For what?" she asked confused, trying to match his amusement.
He stood back and she could tell that he was embarrassed.
"I lasted like five minutes," he explained. "Did you at least cum?" he asked her.
She bit her lip and she knew this was one thing she couldn't fake.
"No..." she shook her head.
Tyler's hopeful expression quickly dropped.
"But it's okay," she assured him quickly as she grasped his hands in hers.
She kissed his cheek.
"You missed me, I understand. I'll take it as a compliment," she said with a smile, hoping to recover his ego. "You can make it up to me later," she added.
This seemed to settle him, and he smirked at her, before lightly pecking her lips.
"I'm ready to go right now," he beamed enthusiastically.
She laughed and began to pick her clothes up from the ground.
"I'm tired. I just want to be with you," she claimed, hoping he'd buy it.
He nodded.
"I brought some blankets...candles...food. Let's just hang out," he agreed with her.
While Tyler began to light the candles, she eagerly collapsed against the blanket covered ground. It was still hard, but a little more comfortable than their standing position had been.
She pulled another one of the blankets over herself and exhaled sharply as she let all her thoughts take over again.
As she lied there she struggled to put a coherent understanding to her feelings.
She couldn't help but feel disappointed and disgusted with herself. She had never used sex as a means to an end before (well aside from an orgasm of course). She had never manipulated anyone with it before, or used it to get something she wanted. She had done that today with Tyler and she could hardly believe it. She felt dirty for it.
Moreover, she had thought about Klaus while Tyler fucked her. Klaus was right, he couldn't stay away from her, not even during the most inappropriate of moments.
She was beginning to realize that although her acting skills had convinced her friends and Tyler that any feelings she had for Klaus were non-existent, convincing herself of the exact same thing would prove to be quite the challenge.
"What are you thinking about?" Tyler asked, looking down at her as he waved out a match and set the last candle down.
Klaus had asked her that same question the previous night. She shivered.
She would have loved to pour her heart out to Tyler had he not been at the centre of her thoughts, along with another one of his fellow hybrids. She needed someone to talk to. Everyone she knew had a conflict of interest.
It didn't matter now though.
Klaus was water under the bridge; there was no use in burdening Tyler with information that wouldn't hurt him now.
"I'm just thinking about how happy I am that you're finally home," she said, knowing that statement was not entirely true.
He grinned back and climbed onto the pile of blankets to lie beside her. She moved closer to him, resting her head and her hand on his chest.
His body relaxed and he let out a long sigh of contentment.
"Did I mention I missed you...bad?"
She giggled and kissed his chest, pretending to be flattered by his admission. All she felt was a combination of guilt and sadness. In fact, she felt like she wanted to be sick.
She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing, hoping to settle herself. She couldn't dwell on things. She needed to immerse herself in her relationship with Tyler.
"At some point we're going to do this in an actual bed right?" she half asked, half suggested, hoping that humour would distract her.
Tyler laughed.
"Yes, I promise, once I figure out how to deal with Klaus," he told her.
She fought hard to hold back a frown as she thought about what he meant by "deal with Klaus."
Stay present Caroline, she coached herself.
"Tell him to suck it," she blurted out. "You broke his sire bond. You won't have to deal with him anymore," she added triumphantly while she ran her fingers over Tyler's chest.
Inside, the weight of her words hit her heart like a tonne of bricks. Not only would Tyler not have to deal with him anymore...as of last night she wouldn't have to either. At least not in the way she yearned to.
"It's easier said than done. Besides, I won't know if it's broken for sure until I test it," he revealed.
His latest news startled her. She thought he had broken the sire bond? Sure, she may have been questioning her feelings for Tyler, but she didn't want him to get hurt.
"Wait," she said, propping herself up on her elbows, "I thought that's why you were coming back, because you said you felt different?" she questioned him.
Tyler nodded in agreement.
"I do feel different. I feel freer; way more myself," he told her. "All I know I just turned about 100 times in the Appalachian mountains; If I can get through that I can get through anything," he said confidently.
She was reassured by his words. Nonetheless, she was still worried.
At this point, she decided it was time to tell him about the vampire bloodline issue. He needed to know for his safety. He needed to know before he tried to do anything drastic in his effort to "deal with Klaus."
"Good, because Klaus may not be our only problem..." she said hesitantly.
Tyler's expression quickly changed to one of uncertainty.
"Why? What else I miss?" he asked as he sat up on his forearms.
"Matt killed an original. And then every vampire that original had ever turned mysteriously died. Right now Damon is desperate to figure out which original created our vampire bloodline and if he finds out it wasn't Klaus they're all gonna kill him," she explained.
She could tell that Tyler soon realized what the implication of that was for him.
"But Klaus turned me. So if he dies, I die," Tyler concluded.
"I know that. They know that. Difference is Damon doesn't care," she said to him bluntly.
After discussing the new set of circumstances they now found themselves in, they spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing about happier moments and memories – a good distraction for her. They finished off their time underground indulging in a little blood Tyler had packed, as well as the more traditional picnic food. Luckily for her, he made no further attempt to be intimate with her.
They left the woods discreetly and ended up at her place. Much to her relief, he decided it would be best if they stayed in; that it was too risky to be out in public in the event that Klaus saw them. However, when he suggested they watch a movie together, she hesitated. Her guilt and thoughts of Klaus were there to confront her at every turn. They had found some movie to watch on T.V., and as much as she tried to watch it, she spent most of the movie thinking about how she had done this very same thing with Klaus the night before.
When the movie was over, she suggested sleep, even though it was still fairly early. Regardless, she was mentally exhausted. In addition to sleep, she had also suggested the possibility of him staying at her house in order to prevent Klaus from finding out about his return.
As she called her mother at work to ask for her permission, she was still trying to figure out what she was thinking when she brought up the idea. After all, being around Tyler was a constant reminder of her betrayal. Not to mention the possibility that Klaus would discover them. It was a risky idea, given her recent history with him, but that same history convinced her that Klaus would never have the audacity to show up here again. She had made herself clear to him.
Maybe she was protecting herself as much as she was Tyler. Having Tyler around constantly would keep her on the straight and narrow. It would solidify her commitment and push her back closer to him. There would be no room for straying. And if Klaus did happen to find out, she hoped that would be what would finally push him away from her for good.
Although she expected her mother to outright reject the idea of her daughter's boyfriend sleeping under the same roof as her daughter, her mother had surprised her, and instead, accepted the idea.
She walked back into her bedroom with pillows and blankets in hand to share the news with Tyler, who looked eager to share her bed with her.
"My mom said you can stay as long as you want," she told him.
He seemed thrilled by the news.
"Did she say we could share the bed?" he asked hopefully.
"No. She said you could sleep on the couch, at least until we figure out what Damon and Stefan find out about Klaus," she told him.
She was lying. Her mother had never specified where Tyler could sleep. Although she assumed her mother would prefer that Tyler sleep on the couch as a mother of a teenage daughter; as the mother of a vampire, human concerns like teenage pregnancy were no longer important. Before Tyler left to break the sire bond, she would have used her mother's loophole to her advantage in order to sleep beside her boyfriend. Now, she was using it to avoid him. She was eager to be alone and think herself to sleep.
"And if Klaus didn't create their line and they try and kill him?" Tyler asked aloud, snapping her out of her thoughts.
He needed more reassurance.
"Tyler, I just got you back," she said, before kissing him. "I'm not losing you again," she finished once they broke the kiss.
She walked back into the living room and began making the couch up for him to sleep on.
"Klaus drew this for you?" Tyler asked.
She paused, knowing exactly what Tyler was referring to before she even looked in his direction.
Turning around, she noticed him holding the drawing Klaus did of her.
"That's pretty creepy," he observed.
Shit. She had left the drawing on her nightstand last night. Mentally scolding herself, she walked towards her bedroom. On the bright side of things, he had not found the other – more suggestive – drawing he had added to her collection.
"Yeah, Klaus is pretty creepy. Even when he's trying to be charming," she agreed, hoping she could steer his suspicion away from her.
"Charming? Does Klaus have a thing for you or something?" Tyler asked as his jealousy and anger quickly rose to the surface.
I've been asking myself that same question, she thought to herself.
"No!" She denied. "As far as I'm concerned he's incapable of real feelings," she added.
Was he incapable of real feelings? Was it possible for any being regardless of what they were to be completely devoid of feeling? He had shown himself capable of feeling, and that terrified her.
"I'm serious. What the hell happened when I was gone?" Tyler demanded.
For a few fleeting moments she considered spilling her guts to Tyler. He had given her an open chance to tell him everything. She almost went for it, but her fear got the better of her. Her pride did as well. Certainly, she had betrayed his trust, so she really had no reason to be defensive. However, he knew nothing of her indiscretion and his inability to trust her was disheartening.
"Tyler. Nothing. Nothing happened," she explained.
"Then why'd you keep this?" he countered.
Why had she kept Klaus's drawings? Was it simple for their artistic merit, or was it because she had been his muse and found herself flattered and entranced by his interest in her? Both of the above, she concluded.
"I don't know," she answered dumbfounded.
Tyler looked more than displeased at this point.
"I think I'm gonna find someplace else to spend the night," he stated flatly as he left her bedroom, leaving her stunned and speechless.
"Tyler," she called, turning after him. "Tyler!" she said louder as she walked out into the hall.
He was already at the front door.
"Tyler, it's not what you think," she said exasperated, grasping for anything to make him stop.
He spun around. The hurt was visible in his eyes.
"Then what is it!" he asked, clearly frustrated.
She sighed. Although not about to tell him about her true conflicted feelings, she decided to tell him about her role as 'secret Agent Caroline.' Perhaps that would help him to understand.
"I've been seeing Klaus," she said, knowing how that would sound.
Tyler's expression instantly turned sour.
"You've been what?" he stammered.
"Well, it's obvious from the drawing alone, that he has some sort of interest in me. Everyone decided that it could be helpful if I used that to our advantage..." she admitted.
The fury on his face began to dissipate, but he still looked confused, nonetheless.
"Used it to our advantage?" he remarked, unsure of what that meant exactly.
"Yeah...like I could hang out with him to try and find information out...stuff about the sire bond...the doppelganger, his weaknesses..." she clarified.
He folded his arms and his brows furrowed. She was not out of the woods with him yet, it seemed.
"So what? You're pretending to be his girlfriend? How is that supposed to make me feel any better?" he challenged.
She shrugged.
"I'm not pretending to be his girlfriend. I've just hung out with him a few times. That's all Tyler, I promise," she emphasized. "I was doing it for you...I was doing it to help Elena," she reminded him as tears began to blur her vision.
She was ready to cry. She wanted to cry. Not because she was upset about Tyler, but because she was so overwhelmed by her feelings; how quickly they had gotten out of hand and completely swallowed her.
"Well I don't need your help, and Elena has enough help from the Salvatores," he hissed, before opening the door and stomping outside.
"Tyler! Wait!" she exclaimed as she followed after him. "Please come back inside, you're being ridiculous!" she said, starting to grow angry herself.
Again, she knew she had no right to be angry at Tyler, but she was.
Tyler continued down the walkway towards his car, not once bothering to acknowledge her or her comments.
The cool early spring night time air whirled around her and she wrapped her arms around her chest as she looked on.
She said nothing more. If he wanted to leave she would let him.
What upset her more was the fact that his departure came as a relief to her.
Once in his car, he sped off down the road; his tires squeaking against the pavement.
Returning inside, she changed into her pyjamas and then proceeded to shut most of the lights off. She curled up on couch she had made up for Tyler. Using the remote, she turned on the television. Sleep would not come easy for her tonight. The low vibration and glow of the television always seemed to do the trick.
She was right. She had fallen asleep almost instantly despite her troubled mind. If there was anything plaguing her more than guilt, it was exhaustion.
When her eyes opened she found herself in the midst of a dream. She felt conscious of that fact – as she had felt with many of her dreams. However, her conscious self was powerless to stop it. She was a mere spectator of the events that were unfolding behind her eyes.
Music of some sort was playing in the background. It was a piano piece...classical music. As she looked around, her dream world came into better focus. She was seated at the Salvatore dining table in the boarding house. There were numerous plates of food and decanters of blood and wine atop the table, though she could not smell any of it. It was late evening from what she could see through the windows. Voices were ringing all around her too, and as she concentrated their faces became recognizable.
She was surprised to find most of her friends seated around the table, along with unexpected dinner guests: the original family. It confused her. Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, Bonnie, Elena, Matt, and Alaric were all seated in front of her. Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah were too. Everyone looked friendly; nobody was fighting. The dinner appeared amicable.
However, she soon realized that Tyler and Klaus were missing.
"I missed you," a voice echoed.
Turning to her left – the direction of the voice – she was met with Tyler seated beside her. He lightly kissed her cheek, and she felt her dream self begin to smile wide in response.
When a hand brushed against her jean covered thigh under the table, she nearly jumped. At first, she glanced at Tyler for an explanation, but found both of his hands occupied by a wine glass and fork. Turning to her right, Klaus's face immediately appeared, and she discovered him seated directly beside her. It was his hand that was drawing lazy circles along her right thigh.
She glared at him, signalling for him to stop.
He responded with a devilish smirk and instead, continued his hand adventure over her thigh with full cover provided by the white table cloth.
Her breathing hitched as she tried to concentrate on the topic of conversation at the table and ignore Klaus's dangerous game.
When she tried to listen, she found the conversation was inaudible to her. Everyone was laughing and their mouths were moving but she couldn't hear them.
She tried to swat Klaus's hand away but he was persistent.
His teasing was relentless, knowing she could not say anything aloud to protest. She wanted to stand but she found herself unable move.
She sipped on her wine distractedly and uncomfortably as his hand cupped her sex over her jeans, which were becoming damper by the second.
When his fingertips pressed hard against her clit through her pants, she nearly choked on her drink. She coughed loudly to stifle her instinctively pleased reaction.
"Are you okay, babe?" Tyler asked her concerned.
She nodded in response to his question as she took the last remaining bite of her meal.
From what she could tell, as she watched her dream unfold, she was eating steak.
As everyone began to finish and grow restless, she shot up from the table before Klaus could test her any longer and offered to do the dishes.
She noted Klaus's frown, as well as several surprised looks; namely from Elena and Bonnie, who knew she detested washing dishes.
Hurriedly, she gathered up what dishes she could handle and darted for the Salvatore kitchen. She cursed herself when she realized the brothers had not invested in the modern convenience of a dishwasher.
She exhaled in defeat, and rolled up the sleeves of the blouse she was wearing before turning on the hot water tap.
Once the sink was filled with hot water and dish soap she dropped a few of the dishes into the water to soak.
Not long after that, Elena barged in with a handful of more dishes for her to wash.
"What the hell has come over you, Caroline? Since when did you start doing dishes?" Elena asked, quite amused.
Caroline shrugged.
"I just thought I'd be polite," she snapped at her friend.
Elena quickly backed down and left, presumably to bring her even more dirty dishes.
When the door to the kitchen swung open once more and she heard more dishes clang against the counter behind her, she laughed to herself.
"Elena, if I knew Stefan and Damon hadn't entered the latter part of the twentieth-century yet by buying a dishwasher, I wouldn't have offered," she confessed to her friend.
"Perhaps you could use a hand then, love?" a wicked, but familiar, accented voice asked from directly behind her.
The hair on the back of her neck rose immediately as his breath kissed her skin.
She scoffed and played down his suggestion.
"I don't need your help," she told him, not bothering to acknowledge his presence.
She continued washing.
"I never pegged you as the domestic type, Caroline. I think we both know why you're in here," he mused.
His hands ran along her hips as she stood there motionless. Once more, she couldn't move.
He was right. She wasn't the domestic type. She had really only offered to do the dishes so she could escape his bittersweet attentions.
Her breathing hitched as his fingers reached the button of her jeans.
She struggled to concentrate on washing the plate in her hand while his right hand slipped under her jeans and then her panties.
"You need to stop," she panicked. "Tyler...or anyone could come in here and find us," she warned him of the consequences.
That was useless. He didn't care about consequences.
"We're fine," he assured her. "Tyler's about to play a game of poker with my brothers and a few of your friends," he explained.
She tried to focus her hearing out to the other room, but apparently that vampire trait had been suspended for her in this dream sequence.
His hand dipped lower between her legs, completely enveloping her centre.
She gasped.
"So why aren't you out there then trying to show Tyler up?" she wondered, hoping this would prompt him to leave, despite her body's protests.
"Because Bonnie is playing, and witches are notorious cheaters. I'd rather play my hand somewhere else...where my probability of success is greater," he hissed against her ear.
She swallowed hard in response. His words had triggered an instant heat between her thighs.
The fact that his fingertips were beginning to draw circles around her clit didn't help either.
She dropped the glass she was currently trying to wash back into the sink and slammed the palms of her hands flat against the counter in an effort to hold herself up.
His free hand dipped inside her blouse, causing one of the top buttons to pop away.
The combination of his fingers kneading the flesh of her breast while the other dipped urgently inside of her womanhood caused her to sigh louder than she had anticipated.
"Mmm, you're dripping," he observed, while two of his fingers pumped slowly in and out of her and the back of his thumb brushed over her most sensitive spot.
Her body was completely tense as the pleasurable pressure built up under his expert hand between her legs.
One of her feet was stepping on top of the other in an attempt to distract herself with pain to quell the extreme delight she was experiencing.
They couldn't get caught.
She was clenching the countertop between her hands so hard she felt like it would break.
He pressed himself into her backside so that the evidence of his own arousal was blatantly obvious to her.
She whimpered quietly as he kept up his welcome torture.
It was all she could do to keep quiet.
This was so wrong, but she knew she lacked the willpower to push him away. She lacked the willpower because she wanted him in spite of everything.
"Let go, love," he urged her. "Cum for me sweetheart," he begged.
She was trembling now; teetering on the edge; on the verge of climax. So close, she thought.
"What the hell is going on?" Tyler's voice demanded from the both of them as he entered the kitchen.
Her stomach rose to her chest and her eyes shot open.
Although it wouldn't have surprised her if Klaus continued his actions regardless of Tyler's presence, he promptly removed his hands from inside both her pants and her shirt, before turning around to react to Tyler.
She quickly straightened her blouse and buttoned up her pants, slowly following Klaus's lead to face Tyler.
"Is someone going to answer me!" Tyler shouted furiously.
She tried to speak, but words were inaccessible to her. Instead, she chewed her lip as she peered anxiously over Klaus's shoulder.
Klaus chuckled and stepped towards Tyler. He brought the index finger that had been so deep inside of her moments ago to his lips and sucked on it, as if he was savouring the lingering taste of a delicious meal.
"Well mate, I think you just missed dessert," Klaus finally answered with a smug look on his face.
Suddenly everything went blurry, and any noise from the dream was drowned out by an annoying ringing sound.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself in her darkened living room. The glow of her vibrating cell phone on the coffee table was the only thing providing her with any light to see.
She examined the display to see that it was Matt calling her.
Sitting up, she pushed one of the blankets she had got for Tyler off of her legs. She tried to recall when she had fallen asleep, when she had grabbed the blanket, and whether or not she had set the sleep timer on the television.
"Hello?" she answered the phone.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Hey, Care," Matt's voice replied.
He sounded nervous...
"Hey," she repeated. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?" she asked.
Strangely, those questions had become routine in her conversations with friends lately.
"No nothing happened, everything is fine. Did I wake you up?" he wondered.
"I fell asleep on the couch," she explained, as she stood up.
"Listen, I wanted to let you know that Tyler's crashing here. I didn't want you to worry," Matt informed her.
She was relieved to know where Tyler was.
"Thanks for calling," she told Matt truthfully.
"You don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to..." he assured her, sensing she felt obligated to go into detail about what caused Tyler to show up at his place.
She tip toed in the dark towards the kitchen, eager for something to drink.
"Did he say anything to you?" she asked.
"He said he found out about you and Klaus; that you've been hanging out with him to find out information. He said he isn't going to let him go near you again," Matt explained.
Caroline scoffed under her breath. Sure, she knew she was in the wrong for reasons Tyler was completely unaware of, but she hated how he felt as though he could tell her what to do.
"I'm only trying to help," she replied defensively, as if she was talking to Tyler directly.
She grabbed a clean glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.
Matt sighed.
"I know that, Care. And deep down, Tyler knows that. I think the whole thing just freaked him out a little."
"Yeah," she said in a disappointed tone, before taking a sip of her drink.
She went to lean against the counter by the sink, but recoiled when her latest dream came to mind.
"I told him that he needs to trust you," Matt stated.
She could feel her body go numb again. No, the last thing he should be doing is trusting me, she thought.
"Thanks, Matt," she responded, as she decided to head for her bedroom.
"I'll talk to him tomorrow morning some more. He's passed out on the couch right now," Matt told her.
Her eyes did a second take as they noticed the soft glow of light peering out from her bedroom door that was slightly ajar.
She inhaled sharply.
"Care, are you still there?"
"Yeah, um, that sounds good. I'll talk to you later," she said hurriedly.
"Goodni..."
She ended the call before Matt could finish his goodbye.
The light in her room had been off before. She had turned it off when she left her room for the living room couch.
Thinking fast, she grabbed a wooden broom from the hall closet, knowing she could easily use it as makeshift stake if she had to. She wasn't going to take any chances.
Setting her glass of water on the hall table, she approached her bedroom door with caution.
Deciding to go for the element of surprise, she bashed the door completely open, only to find him standing there, eyes focused away from her, peering down at her nightstand.
"Trouble in paradise, love?" he asked with a grin.
A/N:
- given that this chapter does contain original dialogue and scenes, please forgive me if they're not entirely accurate. I don't have time to scrutinize every second of the scenes I used. My lack of internet connection certainly didn't allow for that either.
- I know some of you were concerned about the Tyler/Caroline sex scene and didn't want it to happen. I felt it needed to, and I hope I made clear as to why in the chapter. If not, please feel free to PM me.
- I hope you enjoyed Caroline's dream scenario. That was my way of making up for the Tyler/Caroline scene. It wasn't just thrown in there for entertainment though. It has meaning for Caroline.
- Is it just me, or is the timeline of 3x19 completely random and confusing at times? (I assume it has to do with the time difference in Denver) If you're confused as to how this chapter fits into the timeline of 3x19, please don't panic, this will become clearer in the next chapter. I hope.
- speaking of the next chapter, I intend to do the entire chapter from Klaus's POV. Expect the timing of events to be cleared up as I re-cap some things, and expect some more Klaus/Caroline!
- lastly, I eat reviews for breakfast. I would love to know that some of you are still out there eager to read more! I'm hungry! lol